Rachel McAdams Drops Out of Passengers, Delays Filming of Keanu Reeves' Sci-Fi Movie Indefinitely

Reese Witherspoon was first attached to space romance

By Rebecca Macatee Mar 14, 2014 5:02 PMTags
Rachel McAdamsDanny Moloshok/Invision/AP

It seems we might be seeing a sad Keanu Reeves again, because Rachel McAdams has reportedly dropped out of Passengers, the space romance struggling to secure a female lead.

Per the The Hollywood Reporter (who was first to report the casting news), McAdams' departure from the independent project has delayed filming indefinitely. The Weinstein Co. has withdrawn its financial support, sources say, which throws another wrench in the works.

Before McAdams' brief attachment to the film, Reese Witherspoon was supposed to play Passenger's leading lady. The flick is supposed to be the big-screen directorial debut for Game of Thrones' Brian Kirk.

In the movie, Reeves plays a passenger aboard a huge spacecraft who mistakenly wakes up 90 years before he's supposed to. He then proceeds to wake another passenger (presumably played a female lead TBD), and together, they have to save all 5,000 sleeping passengers on board from a dismal fate.

Somewhere along the way, these two space travelers fall in love. (Kinda sounds like a more optimistic Gravity—if only George Clooney's character had had a little longer shelf life.)

Insiders tell THR shooting was set to start April 7, but there's no telling now if or when things will really take off. Reeves, it seems, still needs an actress locked in to play his space love.

Hollywood people, be excellent to each other!